The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-12-10

IN MS chair at b;15 on the previous evening.
On the same day Mr.. Stuckey's hat was
found In the osier beds at Chiswick. A
uay or TWO later q walking stick, which
had certainly belonged to him, was picked
up In the river at Chelsea The police con-
tinued the hue.and.cry with unabated
vigor, but after these discoveries only one
theory OF the old gcntlemans disappear
ance seemed tenable. There was no motive
to suggest his having met foul play. He
had, neither the means nor the strength to
have travelled to any distance. The con-
clusion seemed inevitable that no had
strayed out for some purpose-perhaps for
no other reason than that his days outing
had unduly excited him-and had somehow
fallen into the river. 1t was considerable
time, however, before the discovery Of the
body put the old mans fate beyond ques-
tion. During tho interval Ephrnm Stuckey
was more than once summoned to different
points between Kew Bridge and Gravesend
for the purpose Of inspecting the ghastly
human foatsam and jetsam OF the river,
but without result. Four weeks had nearly
elapsed when he received information that
the body Of an elderly man had been found
OF Deptford, the linen OF which appeared
to have been marked with an 49," The
features were all but unrecognizable, but
after such inspection as was possible,
Ephraim without hesitation pronounced the
remains to be those Of his father.
The inquest which followed and which
was, of course, held at Deptford, added only
one additional facv to those above stated.
The medical evidence showed that there
was O severe confusion on tho head, which
had probably been caused before death,
and the doctor was strongly OF the opinion
that the deceased had been stunned by this
blow and then thrown into the river There
was nothing, however, to point to definite
conclusion, and after hearing the evidence
Of Rev. Alfred Stuckey and his brother as
to the mental condition Of the deceased,
the jury returned verdict of "Found
Drowned" A certificate of this verdict,
| together with other documents relating to
the death, was subsequently lodged by the
Rev. Alfred Stuckey, as administrator OF
the deceased, with the Monument Assur-
| ance Company, in whose Office the insur-
| ance on Martin Stuckey's life had been
| effected.
About week after this was done Mr..
Capper, the manager Of the Monument As.
| surance Company, was shown into the office
| Of Mr.. George George, the company's SO.
licitor.
"Well," he said. "any result from the
| inquiries in Stucsey's caser
''Yes, a little" replied Mr.. George, 'but
1 am afraid nothing that is much use to us
at present"
'It is not case of suicdea"
"Judge for yourself. You remember
that at the inquest the Rev. Alfred Stuckey
| stated that he returned with his father
from Richmond about five,' and left a
quarter of an hour later in order to catch
the 5:35 Metropolitan train to Kings.
| cross"
II do"
Every we'll. Now have ascertained that
Mr.. Alfred and the deceased took q car.
| riage at Richmond not long before four p.
M, but were only driven as far as Barnes,
where, at their own request, they were put
down on the tow-path. have found the
| fyman, who says that he set them down on
the tow-path nearly opposite Chiswick
about 4:3O, and saw them walk away east
ward. We have also got hold of an old
woman who saw them on the tow-path near
| Hammersmith bridge; but whether below
or above she can not state, walking in the
direction Of Putncy. She says it was within
q few minutes Of five O'Clock, and just get
ing dusk. On that day, October IS, the sun
you will find, set at 4:57. Now, it is not i'm
possible, of course. that Alfred StucSey
may have been on the tow path walking
toward Putney about five O'clock and yel
have afterward caught the 5:35 train; bu
to my mind this evidence throws grave
doubt on his story. Remember, we have
only Alfred Stuckey's word for it that the
| deceased ever went home At all. On tho
other hand, there is strong presumption
| that some time after five o'clock that nigh
| hG found his way into the river, having
been, according to the medical testimony
knocked on the head first, presumably by
| some one who had a motive for doing so
which stranger TO him would not have
"You think he was murdered"
81 form no theory at present; but thinl
that Messrs. Alfred and Ephraim Stuckey
between them, know more about theil
fathers disappearance than they have ye
disclosed, and that the evidence we nov
have offers very convenient means O.
squeezing the truth out of them"
| ''Then what do you adviser
''Put all our information in the hands O
the police. We shall never prove suicide
and If it be case OF murder that does no
| help the Office. 1t is, therefore, not wortl
the company's while to spend money OF
further inquiries On the other hand, i
there be any fraud in the case, the trutl
L
OF these gentlemen are arrested on charg,
of murder, which expect we shall see be
| fore another week is over"
In this last conjecture Mr.. George Georg,
was not mstaken-he very seldom wa
about such matters. Within four or fiv,
days from the time he forwarded his in
formation to Scotland Yard, the Rev. ALFRED
Stuckey was In custody, charged with mur
dering his father,
When he appeared before the magistrat,
the facts detailed by Mr.. George was sup
plemented by piece of evidence of tn,
most damning character. A tramp, named
Higgs, was called, and he deposed to hav
ing seen the deceased, whom he knew wei
by sight, in company with another man or
the tow-path between Hammersmith ant
Putney some time after dark; to havinJ
overheard something like an altcrcation
the old man apparently refusing to go on
and the young one threatening to chucl
him into the river il he were troublesome
and, finally, to having heard loud erie
after he had passed. Higgs did not at
tempt to identify the prisoner, but he wa
sure that the man with the deceased wa
in black coat, and closely resembled tn
prisoner in height and figure. With regar,
to the time he was uncertain; but it wa
clear from his statements that it mus
have been within five minutes on eithe
side of quarter to six. This left time, q
the prosecution showed, for the prisone
to catch o train ut Putney Bridge by whic
he could have reached st. Pancras so as t
travel by the 10 down train from tina
station. On that evidence the mngistrat
without hesitation committed the prisone
for trial